Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 40

*Fzzzt!*

“……..”

Mila frowned, as if a past memory had resurfaced, but she drove the forklift without a word.

Soon after, they spotted an Infected, its tongue lolling out, twitching and convulsing.

Lenok got off, collected the Infected’s eyeball, and climbed back onto the forklift, asking,

“So, where exactly are we going?”

“I’m not sure, but Infected usually follow life signs.”

“I know.”

“…..Anyway, where would be the place with the most Infected?”

Mila didn’t seem to expect an answer from Lenok, but he quickly found the answer in her words.

A place with a strong life signature outside the giant city of Balkan. It wasn’t a difficult question.

“It seems there’s a residential area for vagrants nearby.”

“Huh? You knew about that too?”

“No, but I can guess.”

It wasn’t that Lenok didn’t know about the vagrants; that’s why he hadn’t gone looking for them.

Given the Infected’s tendency to chase living things, the vagrants wandering the undeveloped areas would suffer the most.

In fact, the city government’s expensive requests for mercenary subjugation were partly intended to prevent the excessive deaths of these vagrants.

However, searching for the vagrants’ residential area without knowing its exact location was a waste of time, and decisively…

“Didn’t you think other mercenaries would have similar ideas?”

It was such an obvious thought that there was a very high chance other mercenaries would be following a similar route.

It was better for Lenok to use his vast magic detection ability to find Infected rather than going to an area where Infected were gathering and getting into a squabble with other mercenary groups.

“If you don’t have any other plans, let me down soon. I want to fill my quota and go back, even if I have to do it alone.”

“Hey, hey. Wait a minute. What’s with you mages being so impatient?”

Mila grabbed Lenok’s sleeve as he tried to get up and grinned.

“I’m not an idiot. I know all those obvious facts. Of course, I’ve prepared a secret that others don’t know about.”

“……..”

Lenok thought Mila seemed like some kind of idiot, but… now that they were here, there was no reason not to listen, even if it was a lie.

“Our boss is very interested in the vagrants.”

“Antares, you mean?”

It was unexpected that a mercenary who had been through thick and thin would be interested in vagrants.

Was there something special going on?

“Yeah. So sometimes, because of the boss, the offices gather to do low-cost requests… or rather, free volunteer work.”

“Free volunteer work…”

It was surprising.

It was more surprising that the mercenaries who followed him obeyed his orders without complaint than that a mercenary like Antares cared about the vagrants.

Even Mila herself didn’t seem to have any particular complaints about it.

Mercenaries who had nothing but money and guts were obediently following his instructions.

That meant that Antares was in complete control of his office.

Was he a good person who treated his mercenaries well, or a superhuman who crushed even the smallest complaints with his power?

“Anyway, so recently, we helped some vagrants move their residential area. And we’re the only ones who know the location. How about that? Isn’t that pretty good information?”

“……..”

Certainly, if they could avoid overlapping with other mercenaries, it wouldn’t be bad to patrol near the vagrants’ residential area and subjugate the approaching Infected.

However, judging from everything he had heard so far, Mila wasn’t just in need of a lump sum of money, but…

“It seems you send people to check on the vagrants regularly. Is there a reason why a man named Antares cares so much about them?”

“Ahaha, aren’t you too perceptive?”

Mila scratched her cheek with a troubled expression, but she didn’t answer any further and silently drove the forklift.

Lenok looked at her profile and silently organized his thoughts.

It was unlikely that Antares was helping the vagrants out of simple pity or sympathy.

The vagrants Lenok had encountered were mostly criminals who had run away from reality or who couldn’t live under Balkan’s lax rules, rather than helpless victims.

Outcasts who didn’t deserve any sympathy.

The fact that he was helping them survive in the undeveloped areas meant that there was probably more to it than met the eye.

It was clear that either the city government or Antares knew something that others didn’t.

“We’re almost there. It’s this way.”

Through the fallen steel bars, among the ruins that were so complex that it was hard to know where they were.

However, the moment Lenok saw the area Mila had mentioned, he realized that it had been artificially created to prevent external intrusion.

It looked like it was wide open, but the scattered debris made it difficult to cross over to the plain on the other side.

In the open spaces that weren’t blocked by cover, deep pits were scattered, thoroughly blocking access.

It wasn’t very thorough, but it wasn’t completely sloppy either. As Lenok looked at the vagrants’ residential area, he spread his magic wide.

About a hundred presences were hidden in those ruins.

It wasn’t a small number.

Mila slowly drove the forklift around the ruins, looking around.

“It doesn’t seem like the Infected have found this place yet… I guess the vagrants are taking care of the approaching Infected themselves. Well, they should be able to do that much since we built them such a fancy house.”

“Aren’t you going inside?”

“Why would I? If it wasn’t for the boss, I wouldn’t even want to go near those guys. I’d rather hang out with scavengers.”

So, Mila didn’t help Antares move the residential area because she liked the vagrants. It was only natural.

It was hard to look kindly on the gloomy gazes that were constantly peeking at the two of them from the ruins.

She said that and stopped the forklift, then took her hands off the steering wheel and leaned back against the backrest.

“Okay. Let’s wait here for now. They’re not showing their faces now, but the Infected that pass by this area will definitely drool over here… um?”

Before she could finish her sentence, Mila suddenly turned her head.

Lenok also sensed a large number of life signs entering his sensory range and shifted his gaze.

Someone was approaching in a group from beyond the horizon where the rough sand wind was blowing.

“Hmm… it looks like a little over ten people, but it’s too far to tell.”

“Eighteen. All mercenaries.”

“……..”

Lenok replied indifferently and got up from his seat.

Mila also sighed and got off the forklift.

“I came all the way down here because I didn’t want to do this kind of thing…”

“If they’re mercenaries who know how to handle magic to some extent, it would have been easy for them to find this place by chance. I underestimated it.”

Mila raised her eyebrows as she watched Lenok, who was gathering his magic power.

“What, are you going to fight? We were here first, so we can just tell them to leave.”

“It would be nice if it ended like that, but… I know someone over there.”

“An acquaintance? Then that’s good. Let’s talk to them nicely and send them back.”

“No. We’re not that close…”

Lenok said with a wry smile.

The three presences that had parted ways not long ago were getting closer and closer.

Soon, the mercenaries who were approaching from the other side slowly emerged through the sand wind.

Among them, Lenok could clearly see familiar faces.

Miguel, Eriksen, and Claria.

The three people who had joined other mercenaries to carry out a subjugation request had run into Lenok here of all places.

A similar look of bewilderment flashed across the faces of the three people who had confirmed his appearance from the other side.

“……..”

A brief lull passed.

After a moment of staring at each other, Miguel was the first to move.

He stepped away from the group and approached Lenok first, offering an awkward greeting.

“Mr. Ban. It seems we meet again. The undeveloped area seems to be quite small.”

“Indeed.”

Miquel flinched at Lenok’s indifferent reply, but he continued to speak undeterred.

“Is the lady next to you originally with you…?”

“We met by chance while passing by.”

“I, I see. That’s a relief. It’s a bit dangerous to travel alone.”

“What do you want?”

They weren’t close enough to ask each other how they were doing in the first place.

At Lenok’s blunt words, Miguel let out a small sigh and glanced at his group.

The other mercenaries were also focusing their attention on them.

He opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Well, this place is a place that we had our eyes on first.”

“A place? Where is there a place here?”

Of course, he was talking about a suitable place where the Infected would come on their own, but Lenok pretended not to know without batting an eye.

There was no reason to listen to them when the other mercenaries’ intentions were so obvious.

Perhaps Miguel was a little annoyed by Lenok’s answer, as his reply was slightly delayed.

“…If it’s not too much trouble, could you move to another place?”

“Hey, are you crazy?”

Mila, who had been listening quietly next to him, interjected with a dumbfounded expression.

“I’ve been listening quietly, but what the hell are you talking about? You’re talking about your place and my place in a land that doesn’t belong to anyone.”

“It seems that the lady doesn’t know, but once mercenaries who subjugate Infected decide on a place…”

“Is this your house? No, you moron, we were the ones who built the house for the people who live here in the first place. Is it all yours just because you had your eye on it?”

“Mila.”

Of course, Lenok had no intention of stopping her.

He only pretended to dissuade her, but instead, he provoked her even more.

It was human nature to get more angry when someone tried to stop them.

“Don’t stop me. No, aren’t you angry that the bastards who arrived later than us are claiming ownership of land that doesn’t belong to anyone?”

*Click!*

Mila, unable to contain her anger even as she spoke, took out her shotgun and cocked it, causing Miguel’s face to turn pale.

Could it be that he didn’t think she would resort to force right away?

However, Miguel didn’t just stand by and watch.

“Enough is enough. It’s not like we don’t have hands, so we’re talking!”

Even so, there were only two of them, and there were almost twenty people on the other side.

It didn’t seem impossible to overwhelm them with numbers.

A tense situation where a clash seemed imminent.

Lenok quickly scanned the presences of the other mercenaries standing behind Miguel.

More than a dozen people wearing equipment, including firearms, and a small-eyed young man who didn’t seem to have any magic or energy.

If they were to engage in combat, who should be subdued first?

While he was quickly prioritizing in his head, someone appeared behind Miguel and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s stop there.”

“…Maoren.”

The small-eyed young man Lenok had just identified smiled at Mila.

“I didn’t expect to see a mercenary from the Antares office here. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“What?”

“I’m Maoren from Platon. I’m here to guide these mercenaries today.”

Mila’s face contorted at the words of the young man, Maoren.

It wasn’t surprising. The Platon Mercenary Office. Lenok had also heard the name from Jenny.

It was the most active mercenary office in this field recently, along with Antares.

Unlike Antares, who moved with a small elite group, they were famous for recruiting talented mercenaries based on a powerful capital of unknown origin.

Maoren continued to speak with a gentle smile on his face.

“It’s well known that Mr. Antares is very interested in the undeveloped areas. Can we assume that the vagrants’ residential area created here is part of that?”

Mila didn’t reply, but Maoren nodded as if that was the answer.

“I understand.”